**CHAPTER FIFTY.**
I quickly stormed out of the bathroom door and headed for my bed. My shaking fingers fumbled for my phone which was in my tote, and I immediately dialed Draken’s number, barely able to breathe.
He answered on the first ring. “Eline?”
“She’s dead,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “The girl that I told you about…the one with Tyler…she’s in my bathroom. He killed her. Draken, he was here.”
“I’m coming up,” Draken’s voice was sharp, filled with steel and fury as he hung up the phone.
Within seconds, he burst into my room, his gaze locking onto the bathroom. His eyes darkened as he took in the scene, his jaw clenching with rage.
“I knew I couldn't let you stay alone,” he said, running his hand through his hair.
“We already spoke—Draken, what are we going to do?” My voice cracked, and I hated how small I sounded.
Draken turned to me, his face tense but also in tune. “We’ll handle this. Stay calm.”
I nodded, trying to steady my breathing. He fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. I couldn’t hear who was on the other line, but his words were quick, hushed.
“I need you guys here. Please. I'll send you the location. Be discreet and come with a body bag,” he said before hanging up. He turned back to me. “We’re going to take care of this.”
Minutes later, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, and then a soft knock on the door. Draken opened it to reveal five people—Kelvin, Links, Betty, Topper and Killian. Their faces were serious, no one saying a word as they filed into the room. Kelvin and Links made a beeline for the bathroom, assessing the situation with grim expressions.
Betty stayed by my side, gently touching my arm. “Are you okay?”
I nodded again, though I felt far from okay. The reality of what was happening hit me like a freight train. There was a body in my bathroom. A girl was dead…in my bathroom. If only Tyler had died the night he'd killed Karina, then she wouldn't have been dead. I wondered how many more people he'd killed since Karina.
“Betty, why don't you do your skin shedding to make her look alive?” Kelvin asked as he came out of the bathroom. He was holding the body bag. “It would cover all traces of blood like that. And also, I confirmed it, she's a shifter. A werecheetah.”
Betty stood up from my side and followed Kelvin into the bathroom. While Draken began to say something to Killian. Topper, on the other hand, was just quietly looking as he sat on what was formerly Karina's bed. I hadn't seen him since the night I outed him out to his girlfriend and rushed what was looking like an inevitable break up between them. I wanted to talk to him, say anything to him since he was technically the first person to get me acquainted properly to the shifter world, but my mind was currently far too occupied with other things.
I felt the side of the bed sink and I saw Draken next to me. I didn't even realize he had stopped talking to Killian who was now standing by the entrance of the bathroom. Draken's gaze met mine. “Eline, are you done packing?”
“What about her?” I asked, glancing toward the bathroom door.
“We’ll take care of her,” Draken said softly. “You just need to trust me.”
I swallowed hard, my throat felt like It was on the verge of collapsing with how dry it was nowadays. Trust. That word felt heavier now than ever before. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was spiraling out of control, but I nodded anyway. “I'm almost done packing.”
Draken squeezed my shoulder and left my side and I continued packing my box. My hands shook as I stuffed a few essentials inside.
Behind me, I could hear Draken and Kelvin discussing how they would take the body outside of the dorm without being seen in low tones, the occasional tear of something making my skin crawl. I didn’t want to know what they were doing with her body.
After a while, Betty stepped out from the bathroom, leaning against the walls, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “She looks as good as new now. But the question remains how we'll be able to take her body out without it. We can’t risk getting caught. I know very well that dorm porters patrol more frequently,” She said.
“If only Draken-”
“No. We don't need him,” I said, cutting links off. “He's clearly not interested in helping us. He's a selfish bastard —”
“Eline,” Draken caught me off before I could even complete my words. He was standing next to Killian, his gaze soft as he spoke. “I know Drake isn't the best person out there, but in his own twisted ways, I promise he still cares.”
“You say that because you're his other half, his twin,” I replied, rolling my eyes.
The room went silent for a minute. No one said anything, until Topper broke the silence as he stood up. “If you're against calling Drake, then we'll be left with no choice but to use my hybrid powers,” he said, leaving me curious. “Are there CCTV cameras in your dorm?”
I nodded, affirmative.
“I’ve never actually tried this before, but due to my hybrid powers I can easily outrun a cheetah or a jet. Literally, I might as well be the fastest man in the world,” he continued. “I'll carry the body to the car, fast enough that no one will even notice. It'll feel like a gust of wind.”
Draken nodded in agreement. “That's doable,” then he called for Kelvin and links to bring out the body — which they did.
The body was already well secured in the body bag. I wondered what was next. Where were we even going to bury the body discreetly? Or were we going to deliver it to her family? We didn't even know the girl.
“Ready?” Draken asked, directing the question towards Topper.
Topper only nodded and collected the body bag. He immediately threw it over his shoulder like a ragdoll and nodded towards Killian who was standing by the door. The nod was Killian’s cue to open the door, which he did.
I watched Topper take off his shoe, one hand holding on to the body bag over his shoulder, as he began to exercise his legs. He was preparing to run out. Then, suddenly his feets started to get longer than they were as he flexed them.
“I'll be expecting you all in the car,” he said.
And with a blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving behind a gust of wind that almost threw me flying to the wall. I blinked again, looking at the place he once was. That was probably the most supernatural or even fascinating thing I'd ever seen and I'd seen a lot of things. Being able to run that was mind-blowing.
Betty, Links, and Kelvin also left immediately, leaving behind only me, Draken and Killian.
“Would you be riding in your car?” Killian asked as he also prepared to leave.
Draken nodded. “We'll be meeting at my apartment today.”
Killian gave a curt nod and left.
“Are you done packing?” Draken turned to me.
I hesitated for a moment, then held the handle of my box tightly, my heart racing due to everything that had happened over the past hours. “Yeah.”
“Hey, Eline,” Draken closed the distance between us. His hands cupped my cheeks as he placed a feathery kiss on my lips. One I was longing for. “I already promised you that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, right? And I promise to never break a promise. Nothing’s ever going to happen to you or even your family, I'll make sure of that.”
Draken caressed my cheeks softly, however, there was a look in his eyes. One I had never seen before, not even when he'd confronted Tyler.
That look…it was *predatory.*
It turned on my cat tingles.